MacLinuxUtils is the free and open-source alternative of macOS apps like Mac Fan Control,smcFanControl and Turbo Boost Switcher,but for Linux.MacLinuxUtils aim is to bring everything you love about macOS utilities for all Linux distros,in one package.

Table of Contents

• End of development
  • What does this mean for experimental mode?
• Features
  • Graphical User Interface
  • Fan Control
  • Controlling the fans
  • Manual Mode (Experimental)
  • Presets
  • Turbo Boost Switcher
  • System tray icon
  • Experimental mode
• Requirements
• Download
• How to install
  • Portable use
  • Permission denied
  • Why is it asking for my password?
• Issues
• Mentions of MacLinuxUtils
• License

End of development

As of June 2021, with the 2.3.5 release, development for MacLinuxUtils has ended. This means that MacLinuxUtils will not receive feature updates anymore. It might only receive bug fixes or other important patches to fix functionality. This decision was taken due to the fact that if I were to add new features, it would be too much for such a small and lightweight utility.

I, ASKY still use this on Debian. Possibly if I can't run this anymore in the future then this repo will be updated.

What does this mean for experimental mode?

Currently, experimental mode is in a very unstable state and has not been updated since November 2020. Experimental mode is still accesible, but the features that are available in this mode will never end up in a stable build. For basic users, experimental mode is not really recommended.

Features

Graphical User Interface

MacLinuxUtils is the only fan controller and turbo boost switcher for Macs running Linux that has a GUI.

also has dark mode

Fan Control

Just like the name implies,you can can control your Mac's fans,monitor temperatures(2 CPUs,GPU,RAM,Battery,4 HDD Bays and Optical Drive.Please note that applesmc.768 on Linux might not identify all of these sensors,even if your Mac has them,it depends on your machine!) and fan speeds.

The biggest highlight about the fan control is that it supports an unlimited number of fans,as long as the SMC recognizes them! Here is a screenshot of MacLinuxUtils operating 4 fans :

Controlling the fans

Once you click the Edit button for a fan,you will be greeted with this menu :

You can set an automatic speed(which is set by the SMC itself),a constant speed with the help of the slider and manual mode(which is only working under experimental mode for the time being).

Manual mode (Experimental)

Manual mode is a more advanced automatic mode.It let's you set fan speeds for certain temperatures.

This feature is currently work-in-progress,so it was included with v2.3.0 under experimental mode for users to test.Any issues that the user finds it is recommended that it is reported in the Issues section.

Presets

Loving the current setup you have on MacLinuxUtils?Now you can save it and load it everytime you want,even at startup! Note : Under experimental mode,there are still issues when switching from a preset that has manual mode to a preset that has automatic/constant mode,hence why manual mode is not present in the stable build.

Turbo Boost Switcher

Intel Turbo Boost technology accelerates processor and graphics performance for peak loads, automatically allowing processor cores to run faster than the rated operating frequency if they’re operating below power, current, and temperature specification limits.When disabled,it keeps your Mac(assuming it supports Turbo Boost)cooler and saves battery.

System tray icon

Once you start MacLinuxUtils,you will see this icon in your taskbar or top bar(depending on your DE or WM).By right clicking on it,you interact with the program without using the main menu.

IMPORTANT : If you desktop environment does not support system trays, MacLinuxUtils will let you know that it has disabled the system tray. If support for system trays will be added, then MacLinuxUtils will enable it automatically.

Experimental mode

Experimental mode is a special mode created for users that want to test new features that are still work-in-progress.Please note that this is a standalone build;it doesn't depend in any way on the stable build.Keep reading for finding out how to launch MacLinuxUtils under experimental mode.Thank you, @mariobrostech for suggesting the experimental setting.

Requirements

• Latest Java version.

Download

• Installing the latest version of Java is as simple as opening the terminal and typing :

Debian,Ubuntu-based :

$ sudo apt-get update
$ sudo apt install default-jdk

Arch-based :

$ sudo pacman -S jdk-openjdk

Fedora, Oracle Linux, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, etc. :

$ sudo dnf search openjdk

Choose the desired JDK and then install it :

$ sudo dnf install java-11-openjdk.x86_64

• After installing Java,download the latest version available in releases.
• Extract it where you want the application to be installed.

How to install

• To install the application,open terminal,cd path/to/extracted/app,and then run :

$ sudo sh installmlu

After the installation is done,simply run maclinuxutils,or search for it using an application finder. If the app doesn't launch,use sudo java -jar /opt/mlu.jar in the terminal instead.

• To uninstall the application,open terminal,cd path/to/extracted/app,and then run :

$ sudo sh uninstallmlu

Portable use

To use MacLinuxUtils without installing it,after extracting it,open terminal and

$ cd path/to/extracted/app
$ sudo java -jar mlu.jar

or

$ cd path/to/extracted/app
$ sudo java -jar mluexp.jar

for experimental mode.

To start the application under experimental mode,use the -e argument :

$ maclinuxutils -e

Permission denied

This error occures when the user does not have enough privileges to access the program. In this case,we need to get ownership of the app by typing :

$ chmod +x /bin/maclinuxutils
$ chmod +x /opt/mlu.jar
$ chmod +x /opt/mluexp.jar

or if you run MacLinuxUtils as portable :

$ cd path/to/extracted/app
$ chmod +x mlu.jar
$ chmod +x mluexp.jar

After that you can run the app using the commands provided above.

Why is it asking for my password ?

Just like macOS alternatives,the application requires your password to execute operations. After typing your password in the terminal,the application will run under super-user mode(also known as root).The super-user mode allows it to modify the system files needed in order to do what it does.For more information of what it modifies,you can check the source code.

Issues

If you find issues while running the app,please report them in the issues section.

Attribution

• MacLinuxUtils's UI would have not been possible without FlatLaf library.
• Managing the files was done with the help of Apache Commons IO
• Special thanks to the Unsupported Macs community.

Mentions of MacLinuxUtils

• Wolfie's Tech Blog : Running Debian on my Macbook
• Gitbook : Fan Control for Macs running Linux

License

   Copyright 2020-2021 Andrei Datcu.

   Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
   you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
   You may obtain a copy of the License at

       http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0

   Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
   distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
   WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
   See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
   limitations under the License.